Commercial Motivation: Things to Remember as an Entrepreneur

Commercial Motivation Lessons from CIA:- On June 13, 1942, the United States created the Office of Strategic Services, better known as OSS, which later became the CIA. US recruiting agents have refined their methods to recruit and motivate spies to take immense risks, including death, in order to obtain information about the enemy. The CIA has become the global center of expertise on behavioral motivation.

Commercial Motivation Lessons from CIA

In this article series, we explore the mechanisms used by the CIA, and draw concrete conclusions for a direct application in the motivation of the commercial. If you are asking the question to an intelligence officer “What motivates spies?” “He will reply to you four words:” Money, Ideology, Constraint and Ego “- MICE and money (“Money”) is the most important lever.

Silver Shines Like Gold

In a study of 104 Americans who spied and were caught between 1947 and 1989, the vast majority admitted to acting mainly for money. At the beginning of the Cold War, in 1953, Lieutenant-Colonel Pyotr Popov sold Secrets of the Red Army to Vienna for a few thousand dollars.

A senior CIA officer, Aldrich Ames, arguably the best negotiator, sold secrets in Moscow in 1984 for a total of 4.6 million dollars. Each transfer of information and related to a transfer of money. The market is clear. The principle of reciprocity of which we shall speak in the next article plays its part perfectly. I know what I give you, and I know what I get in return.

Behind money there is always a more intimate motivator

Lieutenant-Colonel Popov’s real need was discovered a little later. He kept a wife and a mistress at great expense, and his meager pay made it impossible for him to assume the image he had created of himself. By accepting to betray his country, he regained his personal pride in the face of the two women who loved him. As for officer Ames, he accumulated gambling debts following a divorce. In each case, the primary motivator was money. But the psychological trigger was deeper.

What conclusion for commercial motivation?

Conclusion n ° 1: The variable wage of salesmen: simple and readable

The variable is the social contract of the commercial. It is imperative to establish a direct link between results and profit, between what the salesperson gives and what he receives between his performance and his salary. A salesperson who signs an order must know how much this order will bring him.

The Incentive board: If the salesperson is able to do the head count, your compensation system is good. If he has to use his calculator, your compensation system is complex. If he does not have the means to know how much the business brings him, consider simplifying your compensation plan.

Conclusion n ° 2: The commercial challenge: Dreaming before anything

Your organization will work miracles if you make it dream. Materialize your winnings. Exit paid challenges in the form of exceptional salary bonuses or gift certificates. Your salespeople need extraordinary to get out of their everyday life, and surpass themselves.

The Incentive board: All sales representatives will ask for gift vouchers. Instead of dreaming: Ferrari tours, luxury spa sessions … Fantasies motivate more efficiently than Euros, and leave a lasting memory. If you decide to pay in bonuses or gift certificates, translate the amounts in stake into concrete, illustrative gains.

Would you rather be ready to damn you for a gift voucher of 100 Euros or for a Night Unusual and Secret? Incentive is the first social platform for motivation and motivation for sales forces. Incentive allows you to animate original and motivating commercial challenges for your sales people. What if you tried?